University of Washington’s Foster School of Business has always quietly been one of the top school’s in the world. The Economist recently ranked it as the world’s 32nd best full-time MBA program, and then Princeton Review ranked its graduate program as the 16th best school for entrepreneurship.
Princeton Review Rankings
The Princeton Review only awarded 25 graduate schools the honor of being considered the best school for entrepreneurship. The organization chose the schools for their rankings based on the quality and quantity of student opportunities as well as the number of and success of graduates starting a new business. Overall, 300 business schools were considered for the list.
The Foster School #16
The Foster School earned its slot at #16 thanks to its impressive entrepreneurship results. In fact, an alumni survey conducted in 2016 revealed that one in five Foster graduates started a business within seven years of graduation. In total, 50,000 Foster alumni have created more than 17,000 companies, 900,000 jobs and $100 billion in annual revenue.
Foster’s Focus on Entrepreneurship
So, how did Foster achieve such exceptional numbers? The Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship has played a key role according to a recent university press release. The Buerk Center provides students with the opportunity to connect with Seattle entrepreneurs and other like-minded individuals, as well as resources to spark innovation. In addition, “The Buerk Center hosts the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge, Health Innovation Challenge, UW Business Plan Competition and the Jones + Foster Accelerator. Each year, 600+ students compete for more than $300,000 in prize money awarded by the center.”
Beyond the Buerk Center, Foster also recently launched a new one-year program for graduate students, a master of science in entrepreneurship. The degree is expected to start in June 2017 and will prepare students to launch a startup by focusing on the core foundations of business.